By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
The Noblesville volleyball team needed no more motivation to win a sectional championship than to look at a sign in The Mill.
That sign listed the Millers’ volleyball sectional titles. The last one was in 2002. Noblesville wanted to end that drought, and did so Saturday by winning its own sectional. The Millers defeated No. 6 Hamilton Southeastern in the semi-finals and Westfield in the championship match of Class 4A Sectional 8, both in four sets.
“I’m pretty ecstatic,” said senior Emily Kiser. “We worked so hard for this. That was literally the goal. We looked at that sign there and saw 2002 and knew that we wanted to win this.”
“I’m just so proud and happy for the girls,” said Noblesville coach Steve Hawthorne. “They really worked hard. We went through a lot of ups and downs this season, but they’re really putting it together when it matters.”
The Millers got past the Shamrocks by the score of 25-22, 22-25, 25-11, 25-17, holding off a determined young Westfield team.
The Millers skipped off to an 11-3 lead in the first set. Lexi Almodovar started the match with consecutive kills, which set the tone right away. The ‘Rocks began to work their way back into the set late, and a run of four straight points got them within 21-19.
A block by Hillary Muntel and Caroline Sinicki pushed Westfield within 22-21, but Noblesville closed the set by winning three of the next four points. Almodovar put down a kill on set point.
The second set was the most intense one of the championship. Neither team led by more than a point until the Shamrocks made a run of three straight, taking them from down 10-9 to ahead 12-10. That run included a service ace from Claire Hindman.
A kill by Kinsey McAfee gave Westfield its largest lead of the set at 18-13. Noblesville eventually came back to tie the set at 22-22, but a kill by Grace Weber started another three-point run that gave the ‘Rocks the set.
The Millers blasted through the third set, jumping out to a lead of 8-1, then 12-4, then 19-9. Almodovar pounded kill after kill, with Kiser and Lexie Bowler also getting kills as well.
“Honestly, a lot of it was just adjusting our mindset,” said Hawthorne. “Obviously from the first two matches that we had in sectionals the girls were pretty tired, and so we weren’t as crisp coming into this evening as we were this morning. After that second set, we had to remind them what they were playing for.”
Westfield led 5-4 in the fourth set, but the Millers ran off six straight points to jump ahead 10-5. Claire Foster stepped up, with a kill and a block in the last two points of the run. The ‘Rocks were still within 19-16 late, but Noblesville sealed the championship by taking six of the next seven points.
Almodovar put down 27 kills, with Alexa Roberts hitting 11. Kiser added nine kills and Bowler seven. Maddie Hine dished out 41 assists.
On defense, Brenna Everingham collected 25 digs, with Almodovar getting 13 and Hine 11. Kiser had four blocks and Bowler made two.
Weber and McAfee both hit 12 kills, with Caroline Sinicki dishing out 31 assists. Bailey Mendler scooped up 21 digs. Hindman and Kenzie Daffinee both served two aces, while Muntel and Anna Johnsey both had two block assists.
“We’re playing with a front line of two sophomores and a freshman, and then we have a couple freshmen that play in the back court, too,” said Westfield coach Michelle Mapes, whose team ended the season at 17-18. “This team is very talented, we’ve said that all along, athletic. It’s just going to take some time.”
Noblesville is now 22-13 and will play next Saturday at the Muncie Central regional. The Millers will take on Fort Wayne Carroll in the first semi-final at 10 a.m., with No. 1 Yorktown and No. 4 Zionsville playing in the second semi-final.
In the morning semi-finals, Noblesville beat No. 8 Hamilton Southeastern 9-25, 25-13, 25-15, 25-21, while Westfield took care of Anderson 25-6, 25-8, 25-10.
Almodovar hit 22 kills for the Millers, with Kiser putting down seven and Bowler six. Everingham had 14 digs, while Hine collected 12 digs and handed out 41 assists. Kiser made five blocks and Bowler three.
As a team, Noblesville served 16 aces. Almodovar served up five and Everingham had three.
Hawthorne had nothing but praise for the Royals, who finished the season 25-9.
“I have a great deal of respect for Jason Young and the work that he’s done at Hamilton Southeastern,” said Hawthorne. “Obviously it meant a lot to our kids to beat a quality team like that with such a great coaching staff.”
Weber hit 12 kills for the ‘Rocks in their win over Anderson, with Johnsey, Dafinee and Jaycie Goodson all hitting seven. Sinicki handed out 33 assists. Hindman collected eight digs and Raigan Stanifer scooped up five. Hindman served four aces, with Mendler and Stanifer both serving three. Johnsey had one block.
OTHER SECTIONALS
Guerin Catholic reached the final of Class 3A Sectional 27 at Cardinal Ritter. The Golden Eagles beat Crispus Attucks 25-7, 25-7, 25-5 in the semi-finals, then fell to Brebeuf Jesuit 25-15, 25-17, 25-20 in the championship.
University lost in the semi-finals of Class 1A Sectional 58 at Indiana School for the Deaf. The Trailblazers fell to host ISD in five sets, 25-15, 24-26, 17-25, 25-23, 15-4.
The Noblesville volleyball won its first sectional championship since 2002 Saturday. The Millers beat No. 8 Hamilton Southeastern and Westfield, both in four sets, to claim the Class 4A Sectional 8 title at The Mill. (Kirk Green)